Day 15/40: Who Run The World? Girls!

Better late than never. My International Women's Day post. 

"Be the kind of woman who, when your feet hit the floor in the morning, the Devil says 'Oh no, she's up!' 

3 years ago, I came up with  People of My Year list as inspired by Bianca Gonzales. So I decided, "Hey, why not make one for International Women's Day to honor the many inspiring women in my life." I just would like to share to the whole world that women with beauty, brains, and heart still exists in today's times! That my father's ideal woman (sinali pa si Papa! Haha) still exist after all but no one will ever beat my mama's place in his heart. Of course. :) So presenting the TOP 10 Women of my Life (currently):

I so love this photo with Mama. She's so kilig! :)

1. Mildred "Neneng" Balatayo. Mama's definitely the first on my list, who else will it be. Patient, loving,  hardworking, generous, genuine, inspiring, beautiful, faithful, caring. She never runs out of energy and time when it comes to us. Sleeping so late and waking up so early just to attend to our needs. It's not easy to run a home of 8 kids + 1 hubby but she manages to make it look...manageable. Vegetable shakes, gardening, recycling, waste management, practical home and kids tips, financial management? She's definitely the superwoman to run to! And our neighbors and friends would agree to that! Writing this post makes me miss her. Aaaawww. Love you Mang!

With the girls in the family during our Bantayan Island trip.

2. My dear sisters: Annelyn Gem "Lynlyn" Balatayo and Gemelou Jane "Inday" Balatayo. These two are extra special to me. Lynlyn is my cheerleader and energy booster when I needed a push. Inday is a constant reminder that I need to work on my "Ate" duties. How close Lynlyn is to me is how distant Inday is to me. That's why I put an endless effort to keep up and be there for both of them, to Inday most especially despite the distance. I am proud of what both of them have currently achieved. Lynlyn is passionate both in GK and the course that she took up, Environmental Science, and I wish the same thing for Inday as she tries to choose from her top choices of the course that she wants to take next school year. Suitors, well they would definitely need to pass through me (shows muscles!) and I might just be the first "obstacle". Mas scary si Kuya JR. Haha I love them both and I am excited of what the future holds for both of them. 

Nanay with the most "kulit" apo, Matthew.

3. Maura "Odag" Balatayo, Nanay to us. If you are ever "naligaw" in Punta Cruz, Maribojoc, Bohol, ask where this woman lives and you'll always get an answer. She's everyone's Nanay, not only to us, her close family, but to the rest of the barangay. Seriously. She is loved by every person she meets or anyone who visits our home in Bohol. She loves to sing, is loving, loves to speak English (and doesn't like to speak Tagalog. Haha.), remembers all her apos' birthdays very well including the year when we were  born, shares stories about their (hard) life before and how "bahalag saging, basta labing and happy" rings true for the Balatayo family before and yes literally. I especially love when she starts telling us stories of Papa during his childhood days. I would really love her to be present during my wedding day and so my constant prayer for her is to become healthier everyday.

During Team GK's Christmas Party last year.

4. Team GK Marketing: Me, Niki, Ate Jaja R, Ate Jaja O, Tita Lulu, Ate Bobbie, headed by Ate Eena. We have two new kapamilya on board who came in this year, Gia and Kuya Calvin. But sobrang girl power in one team. Girl power who act and do things like men does. Haha. Well, that's how it is when you're in Team GK. But when it's time to doll up, we sure do know how to dress each other up. I am grateful to be part of such passionate, hardworking and inspiring team. Ate Eena knows how to push and inspire and affirm and bring out the best in each of us. We help out each other as best as we can, push each other and be there for one another, work related (which most of the time doesn't feel like work at all) or not. I love it when we go on mission trips together!

Get together last Dec 2010.

5. Bestfriends Michelle "Mishy" Olvido, Felice Suzanne "Chai" Soria, Ricca Zarina "Ryka" Cortes. I love that each of us are set on what we want to do for the rest of our life, well most of it. Mishy wants to be the most and effective teacher, Ryka wants to become the best doctor in her chosen expertise and Chai wants to be the best lawyer all because they want to be an instrument of God's love to those who needs their expertise, brilliance and wisdom the most, the last, the least, and the lost. I am grateful that God brought us together to inspire and look out for each other despite the fact that we get to see each other, at most, thrice to five times a year. I miss our crazy talks about our dreams for the future and our love lives...well, for Mishy and me, more on the crush lives. Haha. And oh, you should head over to Mishy's blog, she's one of my favorite writers, no bias there. You should see... more of like read...it for yourself.

Last dinner with Joyce before she left for Iligan. :( 

6. Roommates May Marie "Ate May" Nogra, Maria Joyce "Bentoa" Bentoy, Melissa "Ate Melai" Llegado. It'll be my second year here in Manila this year and I have found a family in the last 2 years in them, my roommies. Being away from my family in Cebu is easier because I have their company to look forward to at the end of the day. We have been to quite a number of mission trips, adventures, and road trips together and I am truly grateful that we have grown closer despite our differences and own quirks. Bentoa recently moved back to Iligan but we miss her every single day but she promised us that when time and resources permits, she'll be joining us in our future adventures. Singapore na? Haha. I can't wait for us to reunited again in this year's Bayani Challenge in Iligan! Woot!

With the old generation. Joke. Haha. Igsuons with the gorgeous moms and bride to be (at that time) Ate My during her bridal shower.

With the new generation...tapos nakita ko si Tito Benjie...ay, wrong caption. Haha. Focus on the women in this photo na lang para pasok yung (supposedly) "new generation" na caption ko. Haha. Peace Tito Benj! :)

7. Team GK Girls. When you have all these women in one room, the young and young at heart, then you're in for a treat. These women I work with doesn't only have the heart for God and the country but are equally beautiful physically and the smartest too. Get to know them, listen to their stories, learn from from their journey and be blown away by their passion, creativity, genuine hearts and dedication to uplift lives and restore human dignity. Though our work and mission seems heavy and ginormous, we do know how to have fun (look at these photos!) and still fulfill our duties of being a wife, a sister, a mom, a daughter and a friend.

Who's missing? Kaluoy. HAHA. Hi Pearl! I mess you already. :)

8. Sunbeams, my sister Lynlyn with her close highschool friends + Mishy + Pearl. I got to know them  by serving in YFC and GK and from then on our adventures and mission trips together never stopped. These young, energetic and happy bunch sends me all energized and happier and feeling younger whenever I'm with them. I learn a lot from them every time and I am grateful that I have them in my life to constantly keep me grounded and to share life learnings to. I love working with this bunch because I can abuse them in whatever way I want...making birthday decors for my little brothers' birthday, asking them to create cards, or asking them to paint materials for kids in our GK communities and the list just goes on and they never complained, not even once. Secret: just keep them full (Mama's job) and laughing (my job). Haha. But we even hang out with just 50 bucks and we're all good. Haymishu crazies! See you in this year's Bayani Challenge, yes? :)

9. Online Women Inspirations. That I call them. If you've read through most of my blogs, you'll be able to pinpoint why I have this on my list. I have been really, really immersed online because of my work in GK as digital/online marketing person (for almost 2 years now) and I stumbled upon a few women who have made my online job easier, enjoyable, fun and inspiring. The blogs of Heather Mansfield and Beth Kanter are the most helpful in my work, their tips and write-ups help me understand and learn the basics and the complications of being an online marketing person for a non-profit and I gain inspiration from their blogs too! Imagine my fan girl moment when Heather came to Manila last December to give a one-day workshop. I totally flipped! Haha. And I'm still looking forward to the day when I can finally meet Beth Kanter. Another inspiration is Shai Coggins who work at Connecting Up in Australia which provides a venue for non-profits to work and learn from one another. That's a dream that I want to happen here in the Philippines too, a Philippine version of Connecting Up and I hope to get to meet Shai in person too. She's also a content creator in Connecting Up and her personal blog is really helpful too and fun to read! I gained an inspiration from there to start blogging regularly again. The other set of  my online inspirations are these young women who blog about their causes and with that, inspires the young generation to live for a cause too: Anna Oposa, Noreen Bautista and Bianca Gonzalez.

10. The nanays and the Sibol teachers in our GK communities. They never fail to inspire me as always. Life has been very hard and difficult for them and their families but they pressed on, they continue to pray, they continue to hope that they and their children be given a chance at a better life. And when GK came to the picture, they took care of what has been given to them and even sharing despite the little that they have. Whenever I feel stressed out at work, I look back to the memories and experiences I have with the Nanays in the GK communities where I have served and I am back, all inspired to work again. They are an icon of hope, of great joy, of great love and of inspiration. Their smiles and laughter, contagious and their faith, always inspiring. Would want to feel what it is like, visit a GK community now. Contact me. :)

There you have it. The Top 10 Women in my list. This is my way of saying thank you to the women mentioned above for being part of my life, for being my source of joy, beauty and inspiration. What's in your list? Share! :)